U.S. patent number 7,231,594 [Application Number 09/501,540] was granted by the patent office on 2007-06-12 for method for paperless attachment of supplementary forms to a world wide web application.
This patent grant is currently assigned to CollegeNET, Inc.. Invention is credited to Matthew W. Hickey, Michael D. Hitchcock, James H. Wolfston.
United States Patent |
7,231,594 |
Hitchcock , et al. |
June 12, 2007 |
Method for paperless attachment of supplementary forms to a world
wide web application
Abstract
An electronic copy of a paper document, such as high school
transcript, can be attached to an electronic document, such as an
application for admission to an institution. The high school
providing the paper document is required to have only a simple fax
machine. When a student requests that a transcript accompany an
electronic application, a request for the transcript is
automatically generated by the application servicer and transmitted
to the high school. The request includes a return facsimile cover
sheet that includes an identifier that can be automatically
machine-interpreted when the cover sheet is transmitted back to the
servicer with the transcript. The identifier marking is
sufficiently robust that it will be machine interpretable, even
after rough treatment or serial copying and transmission by the
high school. Upon receipt of the transcript facsimile, the servicer
automatically interprets the identifying information on the return
facsimile cover sheet to identify the student and the particular
admissions application for which the transcript was request. The
transcript is forwarded preferably along with application to the
appropriate institution after being converted, if necessary, to a
data format specified by the institution. The servicer may also
store the transcript in electronic form in a secure database for
subsequent transmission for a different term or to different
institution. Each facsimile cover sheet is preferably "branded"
with the logo of the institution to which the student is applying,
although the return facsimile number is preferably a toll free
number to a computer facsimile server of the servicer. Thus, the
servicer can be invisible to the high school.
Inventors: |
Hitchcock; Michael D.
(Portland, OR), Wolfston; James H. (West Linn, OR),
Hickey; Matthew W. (Portland, OR) |
Assignee: |
CollegeNET, Inc. (Portland,
OR)
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Family
ID: |
38120637 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/501,540 |
Filed: |
February 9, 2000 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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60119496 |
Feb 10, 1999 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
715/229;
715/230 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
10/10 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
17/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;715/505,506,507,508
;358/403,402 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
Other References
Webster's II New College Dictionary, 1995, pp. 55 and 440. cited by
examiner .
Hart, L: "EDI Speeds Transcript Processing at San Jose State
University," EDI Forum, vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 61-64 (1995). cited by
other .
Johnson, David E. et al. "Management Information Systems and
Student Affairs," Journal of Research on Computing in Education,
vol. 23, No. 1, pp. 127-139 (Fall 1990). cited by other.
|
Primary Examiner: Hong; Stephen
Assistant Examiner: Vaughn; Gregory J.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Scheinberg; Michael O. Scheinberg
& Griner Law Offices
Parent Case Text
RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional patent
application 60/119,496, filed Feb. 10, 1999.
Claims
We claim as follows:
1. A method of online processing of electronic applications for
admission to institutions, the applications requiring additional
documents obtainable from third parties, comprising: transmitting
over a computer network to an applicant an electronic application
form to complete; receiving over the computer network from the
applicant the electronic application form including information
entered by the applicant; automatically generating a request
bearing a machine readable code and human readable information, the
human readable information specifying a document to be retrieved
and associated with the electronic application form; automatically
transmitting the request to a third party via facsimile; receiving
from the third party as facsimile data both the document requested
and the request; and automatically reading the facsimile data and
determining from the machine readable code on the request the
electronic application form with which to associate the document;
and automatically associating the document with the electronic
application form, the third party using only a facsimile
transmission device to transmit the document and the machine
readable code facilitating automatic matching of the document with
the electronic application forms.
2. The method of claim 1 in which receiving from the third party as
facsimile data both the document requested and the request includes
receiving a transcript.
3. The method of claim 1 in which automatically generating a
request bearing a machine readable code includes automatically
generating a request bearing a bar code.
4. The method of claim 1 in which automatically generating a
request bearing a machine readable code includes automatically
generating a request bearing machine recognizable alphanumeric
characters.
5. The method of claim 1 in which transmitting to an applicant an
electronic application form includes transmitting an electronic
application form for applying for admission to a first institution
and further comprising storing the document in electronic format,
the stored document being associated with the applicant and being
available to transmit to other institutions in association with
subsequent electronic application forms completed by the
applicant.
6. The method of claim 5 further comprising transmitting over a
computer network to the applicant a second electronic application
form to complete; receiving over the computer network from the
applicant the second electronic application form including
information entered by the applicant; automatically associating the
stored document with the second electronic application form; and
transmitting to the second institution the stored document and the
second electronic application form.
7. The method of claim 1 in which automatically transmitting the
request to a third party includes verifying that the third party
has agreed to return the document via facsimile.
8. The method of claim 1 in which transmitting over a computer
network to an applicant an electronic application form includes
transmitting an electronic application form for applying for
admission to an institution and in which automatically transmitting
the request to a third party includes verifying that the
institution to which the applicant is applying accepts electronic
attachments to its electronic application forms.
9. The method of claim 1 in which transmitting over a computer
network to an applicant an electronic application form includes
transmitting an electronic application form for applying for
admission to an institution and further comprising transmitting the
electronic application form and the received document to the
institution.
10. The method of claim 9 in which transmitting the electronic
application form and the document to the institution includes
transmitting the electronic application form and the document
together to the institution.
11. The method of claim 9 in which transmitting the electronic
application form and the document to the institution includes
transmitting the electronic application form and the document at
different times, the institution using the identifying information
to match the document with the electronic application form.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for electronic
processing of forms over a global computer network, and in
particular, to attaching documents from a variety of sources to
electronic forms.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are many advantages to the electronic filing of applications
for admission to institutions of higher learning, such as colleges
and universities. Electronic applications provide the institution
with application data almost immediately after the application is
completed, and data is in a form that is immediately accessible for
processing by admissions personnel to assist in recruiting efforts.
Although some schools allow direct electronic application, many
chose to take advantage of the special expertise available at
service providers, such as CollegeNET, Inc., the creator of the
ApplyWeb.TM. system that services institutions and students by,
among other things, processing admission applications. The
ApplyWeb.TM. system is powered by the Universal Forms Engine, which
is owned by Universal Algorithms and is described in co-pending
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/325,533, which is hereby
incorporated by reference.
The ApplyWeb.TM. system handles the applications and fee processing
for many institutions and provides the institutions with the data
they want in the form they require. ApplyWeb.TM. services can be
transparent to the student, allowing applications to be "branded"
with an institution's own logo and making applications accessible
to potential students through the university's web site, or through
the CollegeNet site of CollegeNET, Inc.
When applicants using the ApplyWeb.TM. system enter information
into an application, the information is stored and automatically
populates corresponding fields in subsequent applications.
Unfortunately, certain attachments to applications, such as high
school transcripts, must still be separately mailed to the
institution and processed manually. Thus, until the high school
mails a transcript to the college or university, the application
package is not complete.
Although some high schools have the equipment to convert a
transcript to digital form by scanning and e-mailing the transcript
to the institution, many high schools do not yet have such
technology. Moreover, upon receiving a scanned transcript, the
institution would still have the problem of matching the transcript
with the application. Lastly, the large number of high schools and
institutions, combined with the many different data formats
available, makes electronic data transfer directly between high
schools and institutions a difficult problem.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the invention is paperless processing of admission
applications.
Another object of the invention is to present a complete electronic
applications package to an institution.
Another object of the invention is to allow high schools with
technology limited to a simple fax machine to provide electronic
transcripts in a form useful to an institution.
Still another object of the invention is to allow electronic
admissions applications to be sufficiently complete for processing
without requiring mailing of attachments.
Yet another object of the invention is to facilitate the attachment
of documents from any of multiple sources to an electronic form to
be transmitted to any of multiple destinations.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention
will become apparent from the detailed description and drawings of
the invention.
In accordance with the invention, an electronic copy of a high
school transcript can be attached to an electronic application for
admission to an institution. The high school providing the
transcript is required to have only a simple fax machine. When a
student requests that a transcript accompany an electronic
application, a request for the transcript is automatically
generated by the application servicer and transmitted to the high
school. The request includes a return facsimile cover sheet that
includes an identifier that can be automatically
machine-interpreted when the cover sheet is transmitted back to the
servicer with the transcript. The identifier marking is
sufficiently robust that it will be machine interpretable, even
after rough treatment or serial copying and transmission by the
high school. Upon receipt of the transcript facsimile, the servicer
automatically interprets the identifying information on the return
facsimile cover sheet to identify the student and the particular
admissions application for which the transcript was request. The
transcript is forwarded preferably along with application to the
appropriate institution after being converted, if necessary, to a
data format specified by the institution.
The servicer may also store the transcript in electronic form in a
secure database. When the student completes another application for
admission to a different institution or a different term, the
electronic copy of the transcript can be attached to the new
application without requiring another transmission from the high
school. Each facsimile cover sheet is preferably "branded" with the
logo of the institution to which the student is applying, although
the return facsimile number is preferably a toll free number to a
computer facsimile server of the servicer. Thus, the servicer can
be invisible to the high school.
The system of the present invention eliminates the requirement for
the institution to match up a later-received paper transcript with
an earlier received electronic application. It also simplifies the
high school's job of sending transcripts because the high school
does not need to read and understand the student's request, verify
the student's signature, identify the institution to which the
transcript is to be mailed, generate a transmittal letter, and
address and put postage on an envelope. A facsimile request in
accordance with the invention is in a standard, easy to read format
and the high school merely reads the clearly identified student
name and transmits the transcript to the toll free number using the
cover sheet provided.
The invention is not limited to use with high school transcripts
and admissions applications, but is useful in any situation in
which documents from multiple providers need to be associated
together and forwarded to a document recipient. In particular, the
invention can be used when one or more documents from one or more
document providers from a first group of document providers needs
to be associated with an electronic form for transmission to one or
more members of a group of recipients. The invention solves the
problem of collating multiple documents from multiple sources of
varying technological capacities for forwarding to multiple
recipients.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and
technical advantages of the present invention in order that the
detailed description of the invention that follows may be better
understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention
will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims
of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the
art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be
readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other
structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present
invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art
that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit
and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, and the
advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following
descriptions taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,
in which:
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing multiple applicants, high
schools, and institutions sharing transcript information through a
servicer.
FIG. 2 is flow chart showing steps of a method of the present
invention.
FIG. 3 is flow chart showing additional steps of a method of the
present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the hardware and software used in
carrying the method of FIGS. 2 and 3.
FIG. 5 shows a simplified drawing of a package including a return
facsimile transmitted by the high school to the servicer.
FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing institutions contacting high
schools to enlist them in the system.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the flow of information in a
preferred embodiment of the present invention, in which students
10a 10i (referred to generally as student 10) can submit electronic
admission applications including electronic copies of transcripts
from high schools 12a 12d (referred to generally as high school 12)
over a computer network 14, such as the Internet, to institutions
16a, 16b, 16c, or 16d (referred to generally as institution
16).
The admissions applications are preferably administered by a
servicer 18 that can present an application that is customized and
branded for any institution. Servicer 18 can also verify
application filing time windows, maintain student information to
populate fields of subsequent application, customize the format of
the application data for each institution, provide standardized
test scores from the tester's database, and handle the electronic
payment of the application fee. Servicer 18 may also provided other
services to the students and institutions, such as recruiting and
school-student matching assistance.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show the steps involved in a preferred embodiment of
the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows some of the hardware and
software used in those steps. A student 10 uses a student computer
26, such as an IBM compatible or a Macintosh personal computer, to
request over computer network 14, preferably the Internet, an
electronic application form from servicer 18. Servicer 18 operates
one or more server computers 28, such as Sun Solaris UltraSparc
Servers, for carrying out the invention. Server computer 28
executes Internet communications software 32 software, such as
Apache HTTPD Server from The Apache Group, [www.apache.org], to
communicate over the Internet Server computers 28 also executes,
preferably behind a firewall, forms software 34, such as the
Universal Forms Engine described in U.S. patent application Ser.
No. 09/325,533, for generating and processing application forms.
Server computer 28 also executes facsimile transmission and
receiving software 38, such as Hylafax.TM. available from
hylafax.org, and image recognition software 40, such as OCR Shop
software available from Vividata, Inc. for sending and receiving
facsimiles and for converting facsimile images into text. Server 28
includes data storage 42 for storing information used in carrying
out the invention. Skilled persons will understand that, although
server 28 is depicted as a single computer, separate computers are
preferably used for Internet communications, facsimile
communications, and for application execution. The software
operating on the various computers communicate with each other
using standard protocols such as CGI or Apache API.
As student 10 completes each page of an application, the data
typically undergoes some preliminary data verification. After
student 10 has completed all the pages of the application, as shown
in step 46, the servicer is ready to attach addition forms, process
the application fee, and transmit the application to the
institution.
At this time, step 48 shows that forms engine 34, checks
information in data storage 42 to see whether the student's high
school 12 participates in the transcript program. Each high school
has a unique identifier. The identifier could be, for example, the
ACT/CEEB standard high school code, another code, or some
combination of the high school name and address. The names and/or
codes of the high schools participating in the program are
maintained in a database. The name or code of the student's high
school is available to the CGI program because it had processed
previous pages of the application, one of which included the name
of the high school.
Step 48 also shows that the CGI program checks to determine whether
the institution to which the student is applying accepts electronic
transcripts with its electronic applications. If either condition
is not met, the forms engine processes the application fee and
transmits the application to an institution computer 54 at
institution 16 in step 56. If both conditions are met, the forms
engine presents information to student 10 describing the electronic
transcript system, including the fee, if any, and presents student
10 with an option in step 58 to transmit a transcript with the
application.
If the student indicates that no electronic transcript is to be
sent, the regular application fee is processed and the application
is forwarded to the institution in step 56. If the student
indicates that he desires a transcript to be sent with his
application, the forms engine checks in step 68 to see whether
there is a transcript fee waiver agreement between the institution
and the high school. In a transcript fee waiver agreement, the
institution may agree to pay the cost of the transcript for the
student. Institutions may use such agreements with high schools in
low income areas. Moreover, such agreements encourage the students
to use the electronic transcript service, thereby simplifying
application processing for the institution, which does not then
need to process the paper transcript. If there is a transcript fee
waiver agreement in place, step 70 shows that the application fee
alone is processed. If there is no transcript fee waiver agreement,
step 72 shows that the application fee and the transcript fee are
processed. Processing a fee entails initiating the electronic funds
transfer process to pay for the transaction.
The forms engine then checks in step 78 to see whether a current
transcript is available in a secure transcript database 82 in data
storage 42. If a current transcript is available, the transcript in
electronic form is attached to the electronic application and both
are sent in step 84 in electronic form to institution computer 54
at the institution 16. An indication in the transmittal data for
the application informs the institution that a transcript is
attached.
If secure transcript database 82 does not include a current
transcript, step 86 shows that the forms engine checks to see
whether the institution is willing to accept the application with
the transcript to follow. If so, step 90 shows that the application
is transmitted to an institution computer 54 with a flag indicating
that a transcript has been ordered but is not attached. In most
cases, institution 16 will prefer that servicer 18 retain the
application until a transcript is available and can be attached to
the application. In step 92, a request for the transcript is
automatically generated and transmitted to the high school,
typically via facsimile. A fax machine 96 at the high school
receives the request. The request identifies the student that is
requesting the transcript, preferably by name and student
identification number. The request also includes a facsimile cover
sheet 98 (FIG. 5) for high school 12 to use when transmitting the
transcript back to servicer 18. FIG. 5 shows the transcript package
returned via facsimile from the high school high school 12 to
servicer 18. The return facsimile cover sheet 98 includes
machine-interpretable identifying information 100 so that the
transcript following the cover sheet can be readily associated with
the proper student and application at servicer 18 without human
intervention.
For example, the identifying information can be in the form of
alphanumeric characters in a font that is readable by commercial
optical character recognition software or in the form of bar code.
Such fonts and bar codes and their interpreters are well known in
the art. Identifying information 100 on facsimile cover sheet 98
must be robust so that it will be machine recognizable, even after
rough treatment and serial photocopying and facsimile transmission
by the high school. Identifying information 100 is therefore
preferably in a very large optical character recognition (OCR) font
or bar code. Although FIG. 5 shows identifying information in both
bar code and character format, either format alone is sufficient.
The identifying information could include, for example, an order
identifier including a code for the institution to which the
application is addressed, the student's user identifier and a
date-time code indicating when the application was submitted.
Upon receiving the transcript request on its facsimile machine 96,
high school 12 obtains a copy of the student's transcript from its
files or database in step 108 (FIG. 3) and in step 110 transmits
the copy via facsimile to a toll free number 112 specified on the
return facsimile cover sheet 98. In some embodiments, a facsimile
trailing sheet 114 is also included in the request transmitted to
high school 12. The trailing sheet 114 is used by the automated
software at servicer 18 to signal the end of a multi-page
transcript 116.
The facsimile of the high school transcript 116 and cover sheet 98
from the high school is received by a computer 28 at servicer 18 in
step 120. A program in a facsimile server portion of computer 28
converts the data from facsimile format to a data format that can
be processed by the appropriate interpretation software 40 to
interpret in step 126 the identifying information 100 on the cover
sheet 98. For example, the facsimile data may be converted to a
standard graphics file that can be used with optical character or
bar code recognition software. Such software is well known in the
art. The identifying information is then interpreted and the
transcript is matched with a specific student and application.
Thus, facsimile information from the high school is preferably
processed automatically, entirely in electronic form, and it need
not be printed.
Step 128 shows that if the transmission was unsuccessful, either
because the cover page could not be matched with an application or
because the complete facsimile was not received, a request for
retransmission is sent to the high school in step 130, preferably
as part of a periodic status report describing the status of all
pending transcript requests. When the transcript is successfully
received and the cover sheet is interpreted and matched with an
application, servicer 18 transmits an acknowledgment in step 132 to
the sending high school either individually for each transcript or
as part of a status report.
In step 134, the electronic version of the transcript is stored in
secure, encrypted storage 82 at servicer 18. In step 136, the forms
engine determines whether the application was previously
transmitted to the institution without a transcript. If so, step
142 shows that the transcript is forwarded to the institution,
where it is matched to the application in step 144, and receipt of
the transcript is acknowledged in step 148. In the more common case
in which the application was held by servicer 18 pending receipt of
transcript 32, servicer 18 now automatically attaches transcript
116 to the application in step 150 and forwards the package to the
institution in step 152. Institution 16 can store the received
transcript as part of the admissions application for viewing when
they review the transcript, or it can print the transcript and
maintain it in a physical file. In step 148, the institution
acknowledges receipt of the electronic transcript, preferably as
part of a periodic status update. Servicer 18 can provide the
transcript in any electronic format specified by the
institution
An expiration date can be assigned to stored transcript 116, after
which time it will not be used. High schools can be requested to
automatically update the transcripts stored in the transcript
database 82 at periodic intervals. Servicer 18 sends status reports
to each high school 12 periodically, providing status information
of pending transcripts request, transcripts received, and requests
for re-transmittal (i.e., in the case that the received document
was illegible).
The system is preferably integrated into a complete applications
system, that can access, for example, standardized test results and
provide those results as part of admissions applications to
institutions 16, thereby ensuing the integrity of the scores on the
application and obviating the need to have the testing entity mail
the scores to the institution.
Like the application itself, a transcript contains private
information that cannot be released without authorization from the
student. When a student completes an application with the servicer,
the student can authorize transmission of the transcript. The
servicer requires a credit card number to process any transaction,
thereby providing a level of security by identifying the transcript
requester. Moreover, transcripts are transmitted only to the
servicer, who forwards the transcripts only to institutions
registered with it and specified by the student.
A transcript can be transmitted via facsimile from any high school
that is willing to accept a request from the servicer and return
the facsimile request using the return facsimile cover sheet. It is
desirable, however, for high schools to register with the
institution or servicer so that they can be instructed in the
system and be assured that any transcript request has been
authorized by the student. Because transmission of the facsimile
copy of the transcript from the high school to servicer 18 is
typically over telephone lines and not over the open Internet, the
transcript need not be encrypted during that transmission.
One method of registering participating high schools, shown
schematically in FIG. 6, is to have institutions request that their
primary feeder schools participate in the system. The institution
that contacts the high school provides it with a sample facsimile
cover sheet and instructs the high school in using the system. The
high school commits to forward transcripts in a timely manner and
review regular status reports to ensure that transcripts are being
transmitted successfully. In return, the high school's
administrative overhead associated with sending transcripts is
greatly reduced, and postage costs for transcripts is eliminated.
The high school is no longer required to read and understand each
student's transcript request, verify the student's signature,
identify the institution to which the transcript is to be sent,
generate a transmittal letter, and address and post an
envelope.
Once a high school is registered by one institution, any student of
that high school can have his transcript sent to any institution
using servicer 18. Institutions could also be notified by servicer
18 when a student applies from a high school that is not yet
registered, and the institution or the servicer can contact the
high school and enlist it in the program. Institutions that recruit
a high school into the system could add the high school to the
database of registered high schools.
In an integrated application system such as the ApplyWeb.RTM.
system of the assignee, the status of the transcript request can be
displayed in the applicant's `Personal Log` of the application
processing system. The log can show, for example, that the
transcript has been transmitted to the institution from secure
electronic storage or that a request for transcript has been
transmitted to the high school, but the transcript is not yet
received.
Although the present invention and its advantages have been
described in detail, it should be understood that various changes,
substitutions and alterations can be made herein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims. For example, information in the transcript itself
can be interpreted by the automated software and converted to text,
so that the transcript information can be saved as text or data
base entries, rather than as graphical data. Skilled persons will
recognize that the invention can be used in a wide variety of
situations in which it is necessary to attach information to a
form, such as attaching a resume or a writing sample to an
employment application. The invention could also be implemented by
an individual institution, rather than through a provider that
services multiple institutions.
The scope of the present application is not intended to be limited
to the particular embodiments of the process, machine, manufacture,
composition of matter, means, methods and steps described in the
specification. As one of ordinary skill in the art will readily
appreciate from the disclosure of the present invention, processes,
machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means, methods, or
steps, presently existing or later to be developed that perform
substantially the same function or achieve substantially the same
result as the corresponding embodiments described herein may be
utilized according to the present invention. Accordingly, the
appended claims are intended to include within their scope such
processes, machines, manufacture, compositions of matter, means,
methods, or steps.
* * * * *